Prince Charles might not be so bad after all

Earlier this week there was a well publicized story of euthanasia in the UK. An elderly couple were both battling terminal cancer and traveled to Switzerland where assisted suicide is legal. Having watched my father die from cancer and spend his final months on morphine because of the pain, I feel for this couple and their families. This is something that the state should get out of and let people control their own destiny. Prince Charles did not know the elderly couple though he did know their son-in-law and he sent them a letter following the announcement. Maybe he didn’t condone their actions (maybe he did) but he also was not going to be bullied by the holier-than-though religious nut cases. Good for him.

Prince Charles has sent a condolence message to the family of a wealthy British couple who ended their lives together at a euthanasia clinic in Switzerland, according to media reports.

Peter and Penelope Duff from Bath, England, died in Zurich on February 27, according to a statement released Thursday by their family. Both had terminal cancer.

Prince Charles sent the message to the couple’s son-in-law, Simon Conibear, who works as a development manager at his “model village” in Poundbury, Dorset, the British Press Association reported.

Conibear and the Prince had met on a number of occasions, PA reported.

The family said earlier this week that Penelope, 70, had fought GIST (gastrointestinal stromal tumor), a rare type of cancer found in the digestive system, since 1992.

Meanwhile Peter’s, 80, colon cancer had spread to his liver.

Dignity in Dying, a British charity that advocates the choice of assisted death for terminally ill patients, said it was “extremely sad” that the Duffs had to travel abroad to die.

“Had they had the option of an assisted death in this country they may still be alive, as their physical ability to travel would not have been a factor,” said Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying.

Wootton called on Parliament to modernize laws on suicide to allow for assisted dying.

Chris in Paris
An American in Paris, France. BA in History & Political Science from Ohio State. Provided consulting services to US software startups, launching new business overseas that have both IPO’d and sold to well-known global software companies. Currently launching a new cloud-based startup. Full bio here.